I was introduced to this character by Akiyo, my Japanese conversation partner who gave me a book of the series in June for my birthday. Dayan features a charming menagerie of walking and talking critters who act more like mischievous children than animals. There are some slightly dark, less-than-politically correct twists in this story, like the witches’ taste for alcohol. This keeps it fun and interesting for adults. The stories are charming, with distinctive and appealing artwork that will please to kids and adults.

Do you know them? I didn’t until recently until I started realizing that they were everywhere and that they were French. Actually their creators are French and German: Anne Gutman and Georg Hallensleben. Here in Japan, they are real stars, have a look at their website! Even if you don’t read Japanese, you’ll be able to see that they are a lot about them there. I was unable to find something similar in French or English. What’s unbelievable is all the small things you can get: grocery bags, DVDs, key chains…. You can see women wearing all kinds of stuff with them on it. They apparently are real French ambassadors, on the website you can visit Paris through the drawings of their books. So are you ready for the Gaspard and Lisa’s crazyness?